Impressionise yourself! Check out ‘Make a Monet’

OK it’s not high art – it’s a bit of fun that we’ve put together as part of the Monet mini-site. Though in the process Tim, our developer, learnt quite a bit about the Impressionist technique. It’s also interesting which photos work.

Photos with high contrast work best especially those with bright white highlights and strong colours. Native NZ flowers and bush scenes were a bit challenging! Check out the Manuka and the tree scene.

Anyone got any pohutukawa images? I reckon they would work really well.

Impressionists referencing leisure activities?

Which images work well made more sense after I heard Jonathan Mane-Wheoki speaking about the evolution of new paint pigments during the nineteenth century. You can really see the changing paint palette as you walk through the exhibition – from earthy umbers through reds and yellows and ending in the sublime mauve of the waterlilies.

Hope you have a bit of fun with our Make a ‘Monet’. Let us know what you think. Is this Te Papa indulging the LCD – lowest common denominator or using new technology to take another look at an old favourite?

I went to Te Papa many months ago and tried out the various art programs on the computers upstairs. My imagination was captured. I tried block printing and a few other things. I don’t think of myself as creative so trying ‘real’ art is too risky, but trying it on a computer program demystified it a little and made me feel more at ease with it. I feel the same about this Monet program.

In my town, population 750, there is no gallery, no sculptures, no public art at all. We do, though, have a small, volunteer museum.

Is there any way that smaller, rural museums like ours could access this technology, i.e. put these programs on our computers so that visitors could get the same kind of interaction with art at our museum as they get at Te Papa? Our computer isn’t connected to the internet so we can’t just put your webpage on our computer.

I know many local children, who may not make it to Te Papa very often, would probably love to use these programs if they were available directly in their own little town.